Much has been written about divine love, for since the days of old the Eternal Spirit has engendered sublime meditations in the hearts and minds of God’s children, and this, at the point of reverential ecstasy. In fact, the subject is so elevated that to write about it seems an undertaking doomed to fizzle on the shore of human maladroitness. So what follows will be a humble attempt to trace the outlines of the perception received. I am certain you will identify a noticeable degree of ineptitude in my rendering, but I pray God will fill the gaps and use these words as a stimulus for further meditations.
The first bud
To understand the nature of divine love, we have the words of the apostle John:
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Love, genuine love, will always be seen, for it invariably manifests itself on the canvas of daily living, and you can be sure it is not seen in loving those who love us. Matthew coins the concept as follows:
For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matt. 5:46)
The apostle John had rightly noticed that genuine love doesn’t reside in our love for God, but rather in God’s love for us. After all, we were His enemies and offenders. We had turned our back on Him with pride and rebellion. Yet, in spite of it all, He gave His only begotten Son to redeem us. This is love, John attests. It carries in its bosom the ability to do its uttermost to bless and help even an archenemy. That is why John doesn’t take our love for God as a valid representative, for God has never offended us. On the contrary, He has loved us all along and evinced His longsuffering and mercy with unshakable faithfulness.
Now, we are called to manifest God’s name as Jesus manifested it, and one of the archetypal trait of God’s name is love, the kind of love mentioned above. As John asserts: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). These words, which seem too exposing at first, reveal what knowing God entails, for to know God is more than the result of mere mental speculations or scriptural ideations. It is the outgrowth of revelations leading to a union that affect the whole man at the point of a partaking (2 Peter 1:4, Hebrews 3:14).
So how can we know how much love we have? According to God’s word, the only possible way is by assessing the way we treat our enemies, i.e., those who may irritate or defame us, abuse or persecute us, disrespect or insult us. As John attests, it cannot be measured by the way we deal with our friends.
That’s right, love, divine love, stands in high contrast with the sham love found in the world. It is, in its very fibers, inimitable as much as God is inimitable. And as John points out, this love can be known because it has manifested itself:
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16)
The second bud
This bud has to do with the symmetrical expression of love. By this I mean: When love shines forth, it shines forth in every direction proportionally. In other words, to say: “I love God with all my heart but I am bitter and resentful when it comes to brother Jimmy”, amounts to an antithetical statement. John is referring to this sort of implausible verbalization when he writes:
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20)
The words of John leave no room for misinterpretations. They are as clear as incisive. In brief, our love for God can never exceed our love towards any brother or sister, and this, regardless of how problematic they might be. It is so because the first bud is what the first bud is, i.e., true love reaches all the way down, even to the unfriendly and offenders.
Now if we turn the equation around we are left with the same thing. To the question: “Do I truly love the children of God?” John answers:
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.” (1 John 5:2)
And then he adds: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)
I have often experienced that those who help, bless and edify me the most are brothers and sisters who have an healthy and loving relationship with God. Therefore we can affirm: The person who doesn’t obey God doesn’t truly love the brotherhood. How could he? His relationship with Love is defective.
The third bud
At last, it must be understood that love cannot be detached from other vital entities such as knowledge and judgment. No wonder Paul wrote:
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment” (Phil. 1:9).
Without these subsidiaries love cannot function properly. For instance, the parents who spoil their children might think they love them greatly, but the problem is: they are bereft of knowledge and judgment, therefore their so-called “love” is doomed to be counterproductive and detrimental. Love, God’s love, is never isolated in a corner. It harmonizes with all of God’s attributes and yet remains true to itself. Its expression always amounts to the well being of others. Even judgment amounts to the manifestation of love, for it’s a rescuing of those who are mistreated and abused by tyrants or unrepented offenders.
To conclude I quote the encouraging words written by the apostle Paul : “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom. 5:5).
Brethren! Let us not quench divine love but nourish it and exercise it as the opportunities permit. Yes! God will surely assist us.
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